For the entirety of cryptocurrency’s short history, Venezuela has been seen to be among the most striking example of the need for the utility. The South American country has hosted escalating political tension for years, as skyrocketing hyperinflation, electricity blackouts and shortages of vital food and medicine intensified popular discontent. Venezuelan trade volume dominates P2P markets Venezuelan peer-to-peer (P2P) markets have long been a leader in terms of volume, in part owing to widespread geo-blocking that targets Venezuelan citizens on the part of cryptocurrency exchanges. Recently, Binance announced that as of July 1, 2019, the residents of Venezuela and 28 …

Shell, the world’s fifth largest oil and gas firm, has invested in a blockchain-based energy startup, Forbes reports on July 10. The European oil and gas giant has invested an undisclosed amount in New York-based LO3, whose Exergy platform tracks energy with blockchain technology. The recent investment in LO3 marks Shell’s fourth public investment in blockchain-related firms, Forbes noted, listing platforms such as Vakt, Komgo, and Applied Blockchain as other portfolio blockchain companies. According to the report, Shell has an option to convert its investment in LO3’s native tokens called XRG, which will be used to incentivize the platform and …

Police in China have reportedly gathered evidence of people laying cables via fish ponds to steal oil well power to fuel their bitcoin (BTC) mining. The news was reported by daily Chinese tabloid The Global Times on June 13. The Global Times is published under the auspices of state-backed newspaper group The People’s Daily. The report outlines that the Green Grassland Police Station of the Qiqihar District Public Security Bureau were alerted to the alleged power theft after receiving a call from the head of oil production at Daqing Oil Field — the largest oil field in China, located in …

Monday, June 10 — The top 20 cryptocurrencies on CoinMarketCap are showing mixed signals, with bitcoin (BTC) back over the $8,000 price mark after seeing a dip under $7,900 on June 8. Market visualization from Coin360 As of press time, bitcoin is up 2.18% on the day to trade at around $8,029. The leading cryptocurrency started the day as low as $7,680, subsequently reaching the current price point. On its weekly chart, the coin has lost slightly over 8%. Bitcoin price analyst Oliver Isaacs said last week that the coin could hit $25,000 around the end of 2019, noting that …

The head of Russian oil company Rosneft has not ruled out the possibility of paying for oil using cryptocurrencies in the future, according to a report by Snob.ru on June 6. Igor Sechin said the industry’s acceptance and awareness of digital assets is beginning to rise as Silicon Valley tech giants including Google, Amazon and Apple begin to explore the oil and gas sector. While he suggested that the stablecoin Facebook is currently developing could one day be used to purchase oil by the barrel, Sechin warned there are some hurdles that cryptocurrencies need to overcome if they are to …

Friday, May 31 — cryptocurrencies are on the rise again after seeing a slight correction yesterday, May 30, with EOS (EOS) being the only coin among the top-20 cryptocurrencies to register double-digit gains. Market visualization by Coin360 The leading digital currency bitcoin (BTC) is up slightly over 3% on the day, and is trading at $8,573 at press time. On its weekly chart, bitcoin saw its lowest price point at $7,924 on May 26, while its highest price point of $8,994 was on May 30. Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap Meanwhile, only 1.3% of economic transactions for bitcoin came …

Venezuela is considering to close mutual trade settlements with Russia using the ruble, Russian government-backed TV channel RT reports on May 17. Venezuela’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva Jorge Valero said they are also discussing uses for the state-owned Petro (PTR) cryptocurrency. Valero reportedly revealed that Venezuelan authorities are now working with Russia to find opportunities for eliminating the use of the United States dollar in trade deals between the two countries. As such, the two countries' authorities are purportedly mulling the use of the Russian ruble, as well as Venezuela’s oil-backed Petro digital currency, a controversial project …

Tuesday, May 14 — Yesterday’s rally in cryptocurrency markets has slowed, with the top 20 coins by market capitalization reporting mixed signals, according to Coin360. Market visualization from Coin360 After breaking the $8,000 threshold yesterday, the leading cryptocurrency bitcoin (BTC) has been holding its ground, having gained 2.85% over the past 24 hours and is trading at $8,004 at press time. As reported earlier today, the bitcoin mining hashrate is becoming more distributed among mining pools. “While the distribution of hash power is certainly better geared against coordinated attacks, the number of pools continue to dwindle. To date, versus the …

Monday, May 13 — Following a solid to break above the $7,400 mark earlier today, bitcoin (BTC) has broken $8,000, with all top-20 cryptocurrencies trading in the green. Market visualization from Coin360 BTC is trading around $8,013 at press time, up over 13% on the day.Bitcoin’s weekly gains are now at around 38.88%. Bitcoin 7-day chart. Source: CoinMarketCap Ethereum (ETH) has seen an increase of 7.57% in the last 24 hours. The second largest cryptocurrency is trading at $202.65 at press time. The altcoin’s weekly chart shows gains of over 15%. Ethereum 7-day chart. Source: CoinMarketCap Ripple (XRP) is seeing …

American blockchain startup Data Gumbo Corp. has raised $6 million from major energy companies, including the venture wing of Saudi Arabian national petroleum and natural gas company Saudi Aramco. The news was published by energy-focused news outlet Worldoil on May 8. In a Series A equity funding round, Data Gumbo ostensibly raised $6 million from companies such as Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, the venture subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, and Equinor Technology Ventures, the venture subsidiary of Equinor, a Norwegian multinational energy operator. The new investment purportedly brings Data Gumbo’s total funding up to $9.3 million. The funds will be used …

Thailand’s largest commercial bank, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), and state oil company PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) performed a successful test of blockchain use for cross-border business-to-business payments. The bank recently announced the successful pilot on its website. Per the announcement, the project, which has been ongoing since mid-2018, aims to optimize operational efficiency. The bank claims that earlier this year, it has successfully carried out payments on blockchain within one minute. The post also points out that conventional methods require a wait of one to two days for the settlement to be carried out. SCB SEVP …

Monday, April 22 — after yesterday’s mild market teeter, almost all of the top twenty cryptocurrencies are seeing mild green on the day to press time, seeing growth of between 1 and 7%, as Coin360 data shows. Market visualization courtesy of Coin360 Bitcoin (BTC) is up 0.4% on the day and is trading at $5,315 by press time, according to CoinMarketCap. After yesterday’s dip to below $5,260, the top coin has just reclaimed ground above the $5,300 price point — but remains shy of its intra-week high of above $5,350 on April 20. Bitcoin nonetheless remains almost $300 higher than …